Josh Willis (Neighbours)

Before his introduction, Bonner described Josh as being driven, having set goals and not liking things that get in his way.[4] Bonner told Thomas Mitchell from TV Week that people who are "super driven" would relate to Josh.[1] He explained that Josh has "a real fight in him" and he strives for what he believes in. Bonner added that while Josh does tend to have a one-track mind, he thought viewers would empathise with him and relate to his "inner conflict."[1] A writer for the show's official website agreed with Bonner's assessment of the character, calling Josh "highly self-motivated" and "a natural born competitor".[7] The writer pointed out that Josh inherited his charisma from his father and his drive from his mother.[7] Bonner said Josh got on well with his parents and called the Willises "a great family unit".[4] He added "We've clicked really well as actors as well as characters. It was funny when we first met, as the family dynamic of the Willises was quite similar to the way we were in person."[4] Bonner stated that Josh and Imogen have "a sort of love-hate relationship". Josh loves his sister, but he does not like it when she tells him how to do things.[4]

In May 2014, Josh was diagnosed with alcohol intolerance after collapsing during his 18th birthday party.[8] Bonner said Josh was feeling excited ahead of the party, explaining "I guess it's a rite of passage for him, and he sees it as a chance to spread his wings."[8] While Josh was playing around, he suddenly collapsed and his family assumed that he had drunk too much alcohol. However, after undergoing some tests, Josh was given his diagnosis.[8] Bonner said Josh was disappointed, but instead of feeling sorry for himself, he decided to take some inspiration from his grandfather, Doug (Terence Donovan), and focus on his future.[8] The following year, Bonner admitted that he would probably be friends with Josh in real life. He pointed out that Josh had no friends within the show and he liked to support the underdog. Bonner said there would be some big drama coming up for Josh and he hoped he would make friends with someone he could have light hearted conversations with.[5]

Following his arrival, it was established that Josh was an elite swimmer training for the 2014 Commonwealth Games. His father was his coach and Gamblin said Josh was "sort of" Brad's protégé.[9] Bonner admitted that he had to overcome his fear of deep water to film Josh's training scenes in a real-life Olympic pool.[10] Bonner explained that he did not like going underwater or getting his head wet, so he initially did not swim too far away from the side of the pool.[10] Bonner eventually overcame his fears to become a confident swimmer.[10] Hudson Walsh (Remy Hii) was later introduced to the show as a love interest for another character and a rival for Josh.[11] Hii told Digital Spy's Daniel Kilkelly that Hudson and Josh would clash, as they were both elite sportspeople trying to win the same medal.[11] Hii continued, "However, I guess the difference with them is they know what each other is going through, which helps them understand each other."[11] Hii did not think Hudson was as competitive as Josh, but believed he was more confident because he had a natural ability.[11]

When Josh became frustrated with his father's coaching methods, he asked a rival coach, Don Cotter (John Adam), for advice. Don invited Josh to join his squad and Josh agreed, devastating Brad.[12] A few weeks later, Josh learned that Don was forcing Hudson to take performance-enhancing drugs, while holding Josh back. Josh decided to sack Don as his coach and resumed training with Brad.[13] In January 2014, Brad resigned as Josh's coach after becoming fed up of Josh's lack of focus.[14] Josh allowed himself to be distracted when his public profile started to grow. Instead of spending his time training, he started focusing on fame.[14] When Josh refused to take responsibility for his poor performance in the pool, Brad lost patience and fired his son a week before the selection trials for the Commonwealth Games began.[14]

Following Josh's arrival, promotional pictures of him with Amber Turner (Jenna Rosenow) were released. When asked if a romance would develop between the two characters, Bonner said "Hmmm, there's not a lot I can say now but there is a bit of a connection, but I'm not sure where it will go!"[4] Amber immediately developed a crush on Josh, but he kept missing her "subtle attempts at flirtation".[16] Amber resorted to following Josh to the local pool to watch him train, but he was too busy to notice her. Amber later told Josh that she had been watching him, but he did not seem to mind.[16] When an embarrassed Amber asked then him out on a date, Josh had to turn her down as he had a meeting with the school principal. Amber jumped to the conclusion that she had messed things up and assumed Josh was not romantically interested in her.[16]

Josh and Amber eventually grew close when she helped him with his homework and after sharing a kiss, they began dating.[17] The couple later broke up and when Amber saw Josh chatting to another girl at a party, she decided to get even.[18] After being introduced to Clay Blair (Charlie Terrier), Amber kissed him. At the same time, Josh was looking for Amber and Rosenow explained "Josh was trying to get away from the girl. When he finally does, he goes to find Amber."[18] Josh eventually found Amber and witnessed the kiss, leaving him devastated.[18] While Amber was unaware that Josh had seen her with Clay, Imogen did and found herself stuck in the middle of her best friend and brother. Rosenow commented that Imogen was all too aware that Josh did not have a good track record and she did not want Amber to get hurt.[18] Amber later agreed to go on a date with Clay, leaving Josh convinced that they would not get back together.[18]

After Amber admitted to having sex with her ex-boyfriend, she and Josh struggled to get things back to normal.[19] They were then banned from seeing each other by their respective parents, who believed they were spending too much time together. Realising that they needed to fix their relationship, Amber and Josh began sneaking around.[19] They were soon caught by neighbour Susan Kennedy (Jackie Woodburne) who told their parents. Susan also revealed that Josh was in danger of failing the school year, causing Josh to make "a strong stand for independence" by quitting school and making Amber and his training his priorities.[19] Amber and Josh were divided by their different hopes for their relationship, especially when Josh thought they were ready to have sex.[19] He was then surprised when Amber asked him to wait at least six months before they had sex. A Soap World columnist questioned whether a "lovestruck and sex-starved" Josh could stay celibate.[19] While Bonner did not think Josh and Amber made a good couple, he believed they genuinely loved each other.[15]

Josh broke up with Amber following an argument over her new job. Josh struggled to deal with the break up, but he was soon distracted when local journalist Ruby Knox (Maggie Naouri) came to interview him.[20] Ruby made it clear that she was interested in Josh and they shared a kiss. Bonner explained that Josh was scared by Ruby's strong advances towards him, but he was flattered as she was older than him.[20] The actor believed the kiss was nothing more than a rebound thing and that Josh did want anything more to happen.[20] Bonner admitted that he thought there was a real connection between Josh and Ruby, but realised that she was just using his character to get a story. He said Ruby kissed Josh to get him close and Bonner branded her "a tactical journalist."[15] Despite not being in a relationship at the time, Josh felt guilty about the kiss and chose not to tell Amber when they got back together. He assured Amber that she was the one for him and they finally consummated their relationship.[20]

In early February 2014, Josh suffered a serious shoulder injury that ended his swimming career.[21] Prior to the accident, Josh and Amber had planned a romantic camping trip, but realising that neither of them could drive, they were forced to invite Imogen and Mason Turner (Taylor Glockner) along. Josh was not happy with Mason coming as they were not friends and Josh thought Imogen could do better than Mason.[21] The rivalry between Josh and Mason came to a head when Mason challenged Josh to go abseiling. Bonner told Inside Soap's Sarah Ellis that with Josh's competitive nature, he was not going to let Mason get the upper hand and agreed to do it.[21] However, just as Josh started his descent, a carabiner clip broke and Josh fell to the ground. Josh was rushed to hospital, where he learned that while his life was not in danger, he had suffered a serious shoulder injury.[21] Bonner said "Josh bangs up his shoulder pretty badly, which is the worst thing that could happen for a swimmer."[21] Josh underwent surgery on his shoulder and Bonner explained that from a medical perspective the surgery went well, but in terms of his career, it was a "disaster".[21]

Josh was devastated when he was told that he would not be able to swim competitively again. Needing someone to blame, Josh and his family pointed the finger at Mason and war was declared between the Turner and Willis families.[21] Not prepared to give up on his swimming career, Josh went to the gym to build up his strength. Bonner pointed out that Josh was a strong person mentally, who overcame hurdles before, so he believed this was just another one.[22] When Josh experienced a "searing pain" during training, he was forced to face the fact that his body was not capable of doing what it used to do.[22] Bonner stated that was the moment that Josh became desperate, saying "His mental state isn't where it should be."[22] Determined to carry on with his training, Josh decided to accept some strong painkillers from a drug user at the gym. Bonner explained that Josh told himself the painkillers were harmless and okay for him to use.[22] However, he knew it was not right, but it was easier to talk himself into taking them.[22]

In July 2014, Susan Hill from the Daily Star reported that Josh would begin a casual relationship with his older neighbour Naomi Canning (Morgana O'Reilly) following his break-up with Amber.[23] Bonner explained that when Josh moves some boxes to the hotel for Naomi, they flirt and Josh hinted that they should go to a hotel room, but Naomi rejected his offer. However, while they were in an elevator together, Naomi hit the emergency stop button and they had sex.[24] Bonner commented that the hook-up was good for Josh, saying "after everything Josh went through with Amber, it's a realistic avenue for him to explore."[24] Due to the large age gap between them, Josh and Naomi decided to keep their casual relationship a secret.[23] The relationship was almost discovered by Sheila when she returned home unexpectedly and interrupted Naomi and Josh. Naomi forced Josh to hide outside in the garden wearing nothing.[25] Naomi ended the relationship after Terese found out about it and confronted her.[26]

In September 2014, Neighbours launched a storyline focusing on the consequences of a coward punch. During Kyle and Georgia's joint bucks and hen night, Chris was forced to eject a drunk Josh from The Waterhole when he started causing a scene.[27] Shortly after, Josh returned and hit Chris with a coward punch, causing him to fall and hit his head.[27] Mason commented that the storyline was a topical issue in Australia at the time and the moral of it would be "that one little mistake can have really dire consequences."[28] Mason thought that Chris might be able to forgive Josh in the future, but it would be "a long process", and he would have to deal with the fact that his life has changed forever due to the attack.[28] Mason also thought that Chris would have difficulties accepting that someone like Josh attacked him.[28]

A guilt-ridden Josh attempted to make up for attacking Chris by helping out at the garage where he worked. Josh realised that Chris had been struggling, so he decided to work there in secret.[29] Josh's good deed ended when he got crushed between two cars and ended up in hospital with minor injuries. Josh tried to keep the incident a secret from Chris, but he soon found out and offered Josh no sympathy.[29] Bonner explained, "Chris feels like he's being made to feel guilty because Josh hurt himself while trying to make it up to him."[29] Bonner praised the storyline for raising awareness of how a "stupid" split-second decision could change the lives of so many people.[29]

In an effort to earn money for an operation for his sick daughter, Josh teamed up with Aaron Brennan (Matt Wilson) to form an exotic dance duo called The Heat.[30] Bonner and Wilson attended classes at the Ministry of Dance and took lessons with a choreographer for the dance numbers. Bonner admitted that he was nervous,[5] but once the cameras began rolling, he was not bothered.[30] Bonner said Josh was "terrified" when the Heat received their first booking, a 50th birthday party. Aaron and Josh put together a routine on the day and although it started off "a bit rough", the female audience enjoyed it.[30] After performing the "raunchy" routine, Josh was packing up their gear when Sue Parker (Kate Gorman) propositioned him. Bonner stated, "He doesn't know what she means to start with, but then he realises she wants some sexy time with him!"[30] Sue asked Josh to spend the night with her in return for money. Bonner added that Josh considered the proposal as he was willing to try anything to help his sick daughter.[30]

When Bonner chose to leave Neighbours to pursue new acting opportunities, the decision was taken to kill Josh off during the "Hotel Death Trap" storyline on 5 April 2016.[31] When the boiler room at Lassiter's Hotel exploded, Josh and Daniel were both injured by a fallen column.[31] Josh sacrificed himself to save Daniel. His family gathered to say their goodbyes, while he also spoke to Amber and Matilda via video call, with Rosenow reprising her role as Amber for the scenes.[31] Josh later appeared to Imogen in her dreams.[32]